Looks Like I Need a New Camera

Sorry for my lack of posts this month. I'm having a hard time finding a moment to get on the computer these days...it's only going to get worse with summer fast approaching. Still, 3 measly posts for the month is just not acceptable! I wish I had some fabulous pictures or a wonderful story to tell, but the month is just jumbled in my head. I find myself asking..."what on earth did we do this month?" Well, we did a lot....but I don't have much to show for it.

The weather this month has been quite confusing. Typical for spring, I suppose...but there were a couple of days near the beginning of the month that were just plain crazy. Freezing temperatures and massive amounts of hail...


At the end of March, Stephanie and Wesley welcomed Brielle Grace(I think that's how you spell it) to the world...3 weeks early! We ran into them at Elise's coffee shop one day, and Tayanah got to show off "her baby."

I had the pleasure of traveling to good ol' GFU to see Henry compete in the Mr. Bruin competition on the 16th. No, he didn't win, but it was a great night of hilarity and fun!

Adam has been spending much of his spare time down in the shop working on his Montero. In fact, he's playing with Bondo and sanding equipment as I type. He hopes to have it all painted by the time we go camping Memorial weekend. I hope he gets it done soon because Adam driving the F250 to work every day is costing us! He's got most of the interior all painted and put back together, and he's been switching parts from rig to rig. I'm looking forward to seeing it done. I think it'll look nice. Anyway, the kids spend a lot of time hanging out in the shop with their daddy. Fortunately, Adam doesn't seem to mind TOO much. They've got a large TV down there where they watch movies. They've been finding all kinds of things to do down there, including setting up Adam's old tent, and creating "shop creatures" with the glue gun. The kids picked out the materials and Adam put them together. They're pretty creative, if you ask me =)

Last weekend Elise, Adam, and I went to the annual "Crab, Seafood, and Wine Festival" at the fairgrounds. I hadn't been since high school...back when it was more fun for kids. I couldn't believe the amount of people that were there! We parked in Astoria and took the shuttle there because there wasn't enough parking at the fairgrounds. We met up with Chris and Tonya and shoved our way through the crowds. It was fun running into old friends.

Now, if you haven't noticed, nearly every one of these pictures is just plain awful. Even the ones from previous posts are cloudy, fuzzy, blurry, etc. My camera has been experiencing a variety of malfunctions recently and I can't even get it to take a picture half the time. It is my dream to one day purchase a fancy camera and learn how to take fabulous pictures...but budget and time are a couple of serious obstacles I have to overcome first. Until then, I'm going to be shopping for another pocket-sized automatic flasheroo type....preferably one that takes regular batteries. Suggestions???

Some Recent Kid Quotes

Here's a few of the cleverly adorable things (and not-so-cleverly-adorable things) my kids have said in the last few weeks...

Soren: "The wind is reading books mom!" (there was a book laying outside while we were doing some yard work and the wind would pick up every now and then and turn the pages of the book)

Synnove: "Look, the elk have 'hot dog buns'" (referring to their blond hind quarters...they actually do look like hot dog buns!)

Soren: "Can I have a chocolate muffin?" (referring to his mini reeses peanut butter cups from Easter)

Synnove: "I don't want my nails cut cause I can't pick my boogers!"

Soren: "When did the moon get a haircut?" (there was a half-moon tonight)

Easter, Etc.

Saturday started off early with the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Svensen church. It was raining, but the kids went anyway. Adam picked up Heidi beforehand and they all went together. I stayed home to prep for egg decorating.

Synnove found the golden egg and won a prize!

After the hunt, they all came home to color eggs and hunt them all afternoon with Heidi. It was raining for most of the day, however, I think they managed to hunt outside a bit...but mostly inside. I'm still hoping they found all the eggs! While they all played, I attended a funeral for Grandma Barbara's daughter-in-law Pam. She became my aunt when Barbara and my Grandpa married several years ago, however, I didn't know her well. Pam had only just turned 47 when she died last Wednesday. So heartbreaking.

On Sunday we all went to church and then headed to Ridgefield to have our annual Easter celebration. It was also Lyndel's 2nd birthday! The kids had a great time playing with the cousins that they hardly ever see. Kamille and Heidi hid eggs, and managed to do it before it started pouring outside. We stayed late visiting and didn't get home till 9:30.

The hunt.

While trying to get a shot of Heidi and Kamille, the neighbor's dog came by and freaked Soren out. It made for a funny picture!

The little ones pose with their birthday hats.

He's only 2, but he sure knew how to blow out candles...drool and all! Yuck!

At the Beach...In March!

Last weekend, we sacrificed a day of working at home in the beautiful weather to take the kids to the beach. Jones Beach is just 20 minutes from our house. I had never been there before, but Adam had taken the kids there sometime over the summer. It's a fun little beach on the Columbia River with lots of fun hills and valleys to take 4-wheelers. The kids ask to fly their kite every time they see the slightest bit of wind outside...so we brought it along too. In the pics, it looks cold outside, but it was actually quite warm. It was a fun break.

There were countless amounts of mini clam shells to decorate castles...oh, and a nice dried out orange peel...you know...for color =)

After a while, the kids were able to fly the kite themselves. Every time it fell, they would take turns picking it back up. I loved watching them play. Oh, and there's a "papa does" (ship) in the background!

The wind picked up and Soren turned into a butterfly!

Synnove, taking Soren for a ride

Dear "Nobody"

I've got a good grip on life and how it all works, but there are still so many things I don't understand. Thankfully, I don't have to, but I'm a girl who likes to be in complete control of my environment. As a mother, I've got two more lives I try to control. I've got to provide a haven for them; a safe and secure home, yet teach them a good handful of life's hard lessons. It's those hard lessons that I struggle with. Where do I draw the line? When do I let them get their hearts broken? When do I let them experience new things that may or may not be beneficial? I don't have all the answers, but I feel comfort in knowing that God is on my side.

There have been a few things weighing on my mind, especially in the last week or so. Some are trivial, and some are not. But all of them make me angry. Sometimes I wish I could voice my concerns to the blog void...you know, the void that nobody reads? Ha ha! I can't stop others from saying and doing the things that they do. We all have to live in this world, and somehow we all have to learn to live with one another. You may be asking..."is she talking about me??" Likely, no. But even if I was, would I really admit it? Muah! ha! ha! *evil smile*...you'll never know!

Writing has always been a way for me to organize my thoughts...get the words out...the right words out. Though I love to talk, sometimes I say the wrong thing...the thing I didn't intend. Some say that writing is a cop out...a way of avoiding confrontation. Maybe it is. But in the heat of a confrontation my mind goes blank and I can't clearly voice my thoughts and it often ends in hurt. It's hard to take back words that have already been said...virtually impossible.

The other day, as we were driving home from Oregon City I couldn't stop thinking about something that somebody said to me a while before. Why I was stuck on it at that very moment is a mystery. But, I was so incredibly stuck on it, that Adam and I barely spoke during the entire trip. I spent nearly 2 hours talking to myself...arguing in my head. I asked myself all the obvious questions; who? what? where? when? how? WHY? I felt a handful of emotions; anger, empathy, frustration, confusion, heartache. I didn't know how I was going to get to sleep that night. It wasn't until Adam said..."whatcha thinkin' about?" that I finally was able to release some of the tension. We talked, I felt validated, I let it go....sorta.

With that, and those few other things weighing on my mind, I guess I just wanted to write. I used to write letters to "nobody" when I would get angry. I guess I felt that "nobody" would understand, that "nobody" would care, and that "nobody" would fully listen. "Nobody" was a pretty great pal if you think about it. But since I'm not writing to "nobody" I can't fully say what I want to. So, sorry if you just wasted 3 minutes of your life reading this entry with no story, plot, or point. At least I feel better now =)

Surprise! Adam's 30!

Adam's thirtieth birthday had been on my mind for quite some time. I wanted to do something special, but I was having a hard time finding the time to plan anything. So, at the last minute, I decided to throw a small surprise party with just close family and friends. Fortunately, most everyone was going to be able to come! I spent all of last week planning, cleaning the house, and avoiding spilling the beans to Synnove (she just can't keep a secret). I actually had a very close call when I mentioned the party to some customers during one of my MK deliveries. Synnove got so excited and asked about the party. With some last minute clever thinking, I managed to avoid disaster and Synnove remained somewhat clueless. Phew!


Anyway, the plan was for everyone to be at my house before 1:00...just in time for Adam and I to get home from church. Murphy's Law kicked in at the last minute, and church didn't end until 1:00! I was already cranky with a throbbing headache, and to make matters worse, Adam told the kids that we could go see the elk after church. Ugh...I wanted to scream..."can't we just go home!!!" Adam even wanted to go to my parents' house after church to pick something up! Thankfully, he seemed OK with my emphatic "no, I'll pick it up tomorrow" response. I avoided every urge of frustration and just played it cool. I knew he might want to go out to eat after church, so I made up a fake plan the night before to go out on a birthday date that afternoon while Heidi watched the kids. I even pretended to look up movie times on my phone on the way home from church...when, actually, I was texting my family to start up the BBQ.

I was so happy to see that Adam was truly surprised when we pulled up the driveway. We ate burgers, visited, and watched Adam open some awesome gifts. Afterwards, we lit up 30 candles on the cake (homemade by Jeb!) and sang rather quickly as the wax oozed onto the frosting.

Always gotta have the kid photo-op

We finally got to meet Chris's darling girlfriend, Lindsey! Jeb and Chris are two of Adam's closest friends, and I was so happy they made the effort to come out!

Soren felt the need to help daddy with his gifts.
There were so many candles...small coals flew onto my shirt as he blew them out!

I didn't know how I was going to get a cake to the party seeing as I was going to be gone for the wedding for most of the weekend. I had arranged all the food...but I hadn't figured out the cake until Jeb offered to bring it! Hooray! My problems were solved and everything was arranged. It was a great surprise.

Sweet Nuptials

About a month ago, while attending Hannah's bridal shower, I was asked if I would be willing to come early to the wedding to help with makeup. Of course, I was all for it and made plans to do so. Mom, Elise, and I were going to go up a day early to visit with the family (whom we don't see enough of) and go to the rehearsal. Elise ended up getting sick, so Mom and I headed down to Oregon City on Friday by ourselves. Long story short....we got lost...Facebook for iPhone saved us.

We stayed late chatting and finally got to the hotel at around 11. We got up early the next morning and headed to the church. Everything was well organized and we were on a tight schedule to get everything done. I was told I was going to be helping just 3 or 4 people with makeup. By the time I was done, I had made up 7 faces. All seemed happy with the results, and I was happy to do it. Just being present in the bridal party room is always a fun privilege.

Dad, Adam, and the kids arrived a bit before the ceremony so that they could get a good seat and I could fix Synnove's hair. The kids looked so cute in their Easter outfits. I just couldn't resist saving them till Easter!!


The couple (Hannah and Zachary) broke tradition to get photos taken before the ceremony. I wanted to stay and watch the photos, but Mom and I had to rush back to the hotel before lunch to check out and get our dresses on. When we got back, I did MORE makeup! The girls were all so sweet. I wish I had taken some pictures of them, but I was too busy to pick up the camera.


The ceremony was perfect. Hannah and Zach actually had their first kiss when the pastor announced "you may now kiss the bride." It was QUITE the kiss. I can hardly imagine how incredibly special that must have been for them. Hannah could barely stand after the 5-10 second kiss...she was so weak in the knees!

The reception was filled with good food and fun. One of Hannah's bridesmaids actually made the cake (it was soooo good!), and Hannah and Zach managed to make quite a mess with that first slice. They were so taken with one another....so in love, and having so much fun. Their first dance was a joy to watch...as they both know how to dance. Afterwards, Tim got to dance with his little girl...literally. I think he must tower at least 2 feet above her!

It was getting late and the kids were getting antsy so we headed out to the car. On our way, we caught a glimpse of the getaway car! They had plans to stay in Portland a couple of nights before heading to Hawaii for 10 days!

For those that don't know, Hannah Roach, and her family, are good friends of our family from a loooong time ago. Her Dad, Tim, was my Caravan's (kind of like girl/boy scouts at chruch) leader and took me to my first DC Talk concert at Jesus Northwest back when I was in like 6th grade. Kelli, Hannah's mom, taught me how to tole paint. Tim, Kelli, Hannah, Caleb, and Bethany moved to Tillamook something like 17 or 18 years ago, though they still remain our dear friends.